Mail-bag catching and delivering mechanism.



N 883033. PATENTED MAR. 24 190s.

w. H. LUKBR; MAIL BAG cAToHING AND DBLIVBRING M BCHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAI 3, 908 3 SHEETS SHEET @vi fn mazo dnn, I

y l l y* A L *w f No. 883,033. PATENTED MAR. 24,1908.

W. H. LUKER.

MAIL BAG CATGHING AND DELIVERIN'G MEGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAH. 13, 1908.

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. w.4 H. LUKBR,

MAIL BAG CATGHING AND DELIVERI-NG MEGHANISM.

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PATENTED MAR. 24,` 1908.

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WILLIAM I-I. LUKER, OF SOOTTDALE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOURIHS TO JOSEPH R. STAUFFER, OF SCOTIDALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

MAIL-BAG- CATCHING AND DELIVERING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 24, 1908.

Application filed January 13, 1908. Serial No. 410,624.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, WILLIAM I-I. LUKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Scottdale, in the county of li/Vestmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catching and Delivering Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

. cushion in such a manner as to very effectually take care of and overcome the resistance and momentum due to the weight of the mail bag in rapid motion. In this connection, the invention has in view a structure involving what may be characterized as a pneumatic catching and delivering crane for the car, and a pneumatic receiving and delivering device at the station along side of the track to cooperate with the pneumatic car crane to provide means for accurate-ly catching and delivering mail bags both on the car and at the station, without damage or injury to the bags in anyway.

The invention also contemplates a construction of pneumatic catching and delivering car crane that can be manipulated with facility and despatch, while at the same time embodying means for positively catching and delivering one or a number of mail bags or pouches with perfect safety to the latter with the train moving at anyrate of speed.

A further object of the invention isto provide a pneumatic car crane comprising a minimum number of parts, capable of being readily attached to, and detached from, the door frame of the car, and also capable of being readily swung into and out of the door opening in the operation of catching and delivering the bags.

Another object of the invention is to provide a car crane, which, while embodying the pneumatic cushion feature for cushioning the impact and momentum of a caught bag or bags, at the same time is of a light and durable construction, capable of supporting and delivering any weight of mail that can be handled, and also adapted for supporting and delivering a single mail bag or pouch, and the maximum number of bags or pouches which are delivered at any one station. Furthermore, the improved crane is so constructed as to insure the delivery of the mail bags a suflicient distance out from the car so that the same will not be drawn by the suction beneath the car wheels.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic receiver and deliverer for the station embodying all of the desirable functions of the pneumatic car crane and operating in a similar manner, besides involving the added advantage of being capable of being raised or lowered as might be required in some localities and under certain conditions.

A general object of the invent-ion is to provide a mail bag handling mechanism embodying both a car crane and a station receiver and deliverer which shall meet and fulfil all of the various requirements prescribed by the U. S. Post Oflice Department with reference to mounting of parts, and to the ability to catch and receive any prescribed weight of mail without damage or injury thereto, and while the car is moving at a maximum or a minimum rate of speed.

With these and many other objects in view, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

The essential features of the invention, involved in the adaptation of the pneumatic cushion feature to both the car device and the station device, are necessarily susceptible to a wide range of structural modiiication without departing from the scope of the invention, but certain practical embodiments of the invention are suggested in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a complete mail bag catching and delivering mechanism for cars constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof showing the operative relation of the car device to the station device. Fig.

3 is a side elevation of the complete mechanism, also showing the operative relation of the car device to the station device. Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of the station receiver showing the latching device disengaged from the vertically moving carrying bracket to permit the raising and lowering of the receiving mechanism. Fig. 5 is a detail elevation showing the pneumatic car device folded back to an out of the way position within the car body. Fig. 6 is a detail elevation of one of the preferred forms of bagv hangerspreferably utilized in carrying out the present invention.

Like references designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

ln carrying out the present invention, no radical change whatever is required in the ordinary equipment of the mail car, and the improved pneumatic car crane or car device comprises in its general organization a vertically arranged swinging bracket, designated in its entirety by the numeral 1, and a swinging carrier arm 2 carried by and foldable upon the said bracket. This vertically arranged swinging bracket 1 constitutes the crane proper and may simply consist of a vertically disposed rock shaft member 3 and an upper horizontal crane arm 5. The rock shaft 3 may be conveniently supported in a series of vertically alined bearings 4 fitted to the car body upon the inner side thereof, and contiguous to thevdoor opening so that the crane may be readily swung to both operative and inoperative positions with refer- 'ence to the car door.

The upper horizontal and horizontally swinging crane arm 5 constitutes the supporting member for the swinging carrier arm 2, and to afford a vertical connection between the arms 2 and 5, the said arm 2 is preferably lfitted with a pivot sleeve or equivalent element 6 which is slidably and rotatably mounted upon the arm 5, and one end of the carrier arm is provided with an operating handle 7. This handle permits the mail clerk to slide the arm 2 longitudinally upon the crane arm 5 and also to rock the carrier arm 2 in a vertical direction so that the said latter arm may be brought to a horizontal operative position and held therein by means of a U-shaped or equivalent holding keeper-S fitted to one of the jambs of the door frame. 1n this connection, it will be observed that when the clerk desires to swing the car device out of and through the door opening of the car, it is simply necessary to slide the carrier arm 2 toward the pivotal end of the crane arm 5 to permit the catching and delivering device to pass through the door opening, after which the arm 2 is swung upward in a vertical direction and interlocked within the keeper 3, as may be readily understood from the positions of the device shown in Figs. 1 and 5 of the drawings. Likewise, to bring the car device to a folded inoperative position, entirely out of the way, it is simply necessary to disengage the arm 2 from the holding keeper 3 on the door frame so as to allow the catching and delivering device to swing downward, after which the crane is swung backward in the car and the carrier arm slid to the position indicated in Fig. 5, all of which will be readily apparent to those familiar with this class of apparatus.

The swinging carrier arm 2 of the car crane is designed to support" and carry a catching and delivering device which essentially comprises a guide frame 9, an air cylinder 10, a cushioning piston 11 operating within the cylinder, and a double piston rod 11il carrying at its opposite ends, respectively beyond opposite ends of the cylinder, the impact heads 12.

The guide frame 9 for the catching and delivering mechanism of the car crane may be constructed in any practical or approved manner, but for illustrativepurposes, is shown in the drawings as conveniently consisting of a pair of parallel guide rods or bars 13 rigidly fastened to the free end portion of the swinging carrier arm 2 and not only serving the dual function of supporting guides for the catcher forks 12, but also as holding means for the bag hanger to permit of the delivery of a bag or bags from the car to the station device. To provide for this, the guide rods or bars 13 constituting the guide frame 9 are preferably provided at their ends beyond both ends of the cylinder 10, with open recessed blocks 14, or equivalent holders for a bag hanger 15, which latter is hereinafter more particularly referred to. Also, it `will be observed that the said rods or bars 13 may conveniently provide for the guiding of the impact heads 12 by having these heads so constructed as to essentially consist of a central cross head member 16 slidably interlocked with the rods or bars 13. From the construction described, it will be observed that the cylinder and piston cushion device is double acting in the sense that the double piston rod 11a carries a catcher fork at each end so that the car crane will work with the car moving in either direction, and the single piston moving within the single cylinder provides the necessary air cushion for each impact head 12 when struck by a bag hanger.

The air cylinder 10 may be any of the conventional forms of cylinders, such as are used to accommodate a traveling piston, but in order to adapt the same for the purposes of the present invention', it is only necessary to provide the same near each end thereof or any other suitable point or points with an air vent port 1Q so as to provide for a sufficient escape of air to admit of the proper movement of the piston in the cylinder while not interfering with the formation of an air cushion behindv the cylinder as it is moved toward either end under the impact, momentum, and weight of the bag hanger, which impacts itself against an impact head 12 while the car is in motion.

What may be termed. the station receiver includes in its construction a horizontally arranged guide frame 20, a single air cushion cylinder'21,'a single double-acting cushioning piston 22 operating within the cylinder, a double piston rod 23 carried. by the piston and extending through opposite ends of the cylinder, and the impact heads 24, one of which is fitted to each of the opposite ends of the said piston rod 23. The said guide frame 20 may be of any suitable construction, adapted for the purpose, and the a'ir cylinder 21 is designed to be rigidly secured thereto by the fastening straps or equivalent fasteners 25. Also, the said guide frame 20 is preferably provided on the upper side thereof, contiguous to its opposite ends, with the ribs or equivalent guides 26 with which slidably interlock the lower sides of the iinpact heads 24, thus insuring the holding of the said heads 24 to movement in a straight path. In addition to the features specified, the guide frame 20 for the station receiver is provided at its opposite extremities with the pointed catcher .horns 27 which may conveniently consist of conically shaped blocks presenting, above the plane of the guide frame proper, the inclined friction surfaces 2S on which are intended to ride the bag hangers in a manner to be presently explained. The said. conical catcher horns 27 at opposite `ends ofthe guide frame 20 not only present the inclined friction surfaces 28 for the caught bag hangers, but may also be utilized as holders for the bags to be delivered. To permit of the latter function being performed, each catcher horn 27 may be conveniently provided. at its crest or highest point with a holding notch or equivalent seat 29, as plainly shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings,

The impact heads 24 of the station receiver preferably consist of sliding blocks rigidly fitted to, and movable with, the piston rod 23, and adapted, in one position, to abut against the rear ends of the catcher horns 27, and thereby, in effect, constitute a part of said. horns, as may be best seen in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. It will be further observed in reference to the said impact heads 24 that the same are formed on their upper sides with seats 30 for holding the bag hangers, and at what may be termed their rear sides, the said heads are formed with upstanding abutments 31 against which a hanger strikes and is caught when the same is delivered to the station receiver from the device carried by the car crane. InV a similar manner to the air cylinder l() of the car tate the handling of the mail.

device, theair cylinder 21 of thestation device is likewise provided near its opposite ends or any other suitable point or points with the air venting ports 32.

ln carrying out the present invention, the station receiver, above described, may be supported in any suitable manner at a proper distance from, and along side of, the railway track. lt may be held entirely stationary or may be movably or adjustably supported, but for illustrative purposes there is suggested in the drawings the expedient of supporting the station receiver ink such a way as to permit of it being raised and lowered to facili- To provide for this the guide frame 20 may be suitably fastened, as at 33, upon a vertically movable carrying bracket 34. This bracket is slidably mounted and guided upon the vertically arranged supporting stand 35 of any suitable or approved construction, and sustained upon a concrete or equivalent base 36. At its upper end the supporting stand 35 may conveniently support a guide pulley 36a over which is arranged a lifting cable 37 fastened at one end, as at 38, to the carrying bracket or slide 39, and at its other end winding and unwinding on a winding drum. The said drum is journaled in suitable bearings 40 upon the supporting stand, and carries at one end an operating crank handle 41. Also, the axle of the winding drum is equipped with a pawl and ratchet locking device 42. ln order to sustain the weight of the station receiver described and relieve it from the cable 37, there is preferably employed a latching device consisting of a latch lever 43 pivotally mounted near its lower end, as at 44, within the stand 35 and provided respectively at opposite sides of said pivot 44 with the oppositely extending members 45 and 46, the former constituting a stop, and the latter a foot ieee. By moving the upper end of the latching lever 43 forward, the same may be engaged beneath a part of the carrying bracket 34 to sustain the same, the stop 45 limiting the movement in this direction. To release the latch 43 and permit the station receiver to be lowered, it is only necessary to ease the station receiver from the latch by turning the winding drum, after which, by pressing the foot piece 46, the latch is disengaged, as shown in Fig. 4, thus admitting of a ready lowering of the receiver.

Various forms of bag hangers may be utilized with the invention, but a preferable form of hanger is the one shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, and essentially consisting of a stout wire or equivalent body formed at its upper end with a supporting ring 47 formed at its upper side with a supplemental loop 4S and having extended from its lower side a pair of oppositely arranged and oppositely movable hanger arms 49 between which a single mail bag may be clasped at the middle. r1`he opposite hanger arms 49 are bent in reverse directions at their lower ends to provide the oppositely extending supplemental hanger bars 50 upon which may be snapped or otherwise suitably caught a number of mail bags, thus providing means whereby the single hanger may be utilized for carrying the maximum weight of mail required to be caught and delivered. The said supplemental hanger bars 50 may be strengthened and braced through the employment of brace bars 51 connecting the outer ends of the bars 50 with an intermediate part of the hanger arms 49. However, any equivalent construction of hanger can be utilized without affecting the invention.

rl`he Ause of the apparatus is well exempliied by the illustration of Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. Referring to the arrangement of parts shown in Fig. 1, it may be assumed that the car is moving in the direction indicated by the arrow, thus leaving the advancing part of the car device free to pass into, and engage with, the supporting ring 47 of a hanger suspended from the holder 29 at the farther end of therstation receiver. Also, with the parts thus arranged, it will be observed that a bag hanger 15 may be arranged for support with the lower side of its ring 47 resting on the holder 14 at what may be referred to as the rear end of the car device, thus positioning this bag holder so that the ring 47 thereof will pass over the catcher horn 27 at the inner end of the station receiver and into engagement with the impact head 24 at such end of the receiver. 1n thus catching the said bag hanger from the car device, it will be observed that the hanger will iirst engage the inclined friction surface 28 of the catcher horn 27, said horn thereby serving to initially break the momentum of the bag hanger through friction, and after passing over the horn, the bag hanger engages the abutment 31 of the impact head 34 and carries the same .backward against the cushion of air in the cylinder 21 with the result of easily checking and stopping the movement of the bag hanger without any shock, or damage thereto. The same air cushioning action takes place on the car device when the impact head 12 thereof engages the bag hanger on the station receiver and takes it therefrom, in both cases the air within the respective cylinders being cushioned back of the pistons therein to absorb the momentum and check the movement of the hangers and the bags carried thereby.

l claim:

l. In a mail bag handling apparatus, a car crane carrying a piston-and-cylinder pneumatic catching device, and a station receiver also having a piston-and-cylinder pneumatic catching device.

2. In a mail bag handling apparatus, a car pact crane carrying a pneumatic catching and delivering device comprising a frame for supporting and catching mail bag hangers, an air cylinder, and a piston operating within the cylinder and having a double piston rod carrying impact heads at its opposite ends, and a station receiver cooperating with said car crane.

3. 1n a mail bag handling apparatus, a car crane carrying a pneumatic catching and delivering device having an air cylinder, and a piston operating within the cylinder and carrying a rod provided with an impact head, and a station receiver.

4. In a mail bag handling apparatus, a car crane carrying a double-ended pneumatic catching and delivering device comprising a frame having duplicate end portions for supporting and catching mail bag hangers, an air cylinder supported by said frame, a

piston rod working through both ends of the cylinder and having a single piston, and imheads slidable within the frame and connected to opposite ends of the piston rod, and a station receiver.

5. 1n a mail bag handling apparatus, a car crane having a horizontally swinging crane arm and a vertically supported rock shaft, a swinging carrier arm slidable and foldable upon the crane arm, a keeper for supporting the carrier arm in its extended and elevated position, a catching and delivering device mounted upon the carrier arm, and a station receiver.

6. In a mail bag handling apparatus, the combination with the catching and delivering device carried by the car, of a station receiver having a catching and delivering device comprising a frame having duplicate end portions for supporting and catching mail bag hangers, an air cylinder supported by said frame, a piston rod working through both ends of the cylinder and having a single piston, and impact heads connected to and movable with the piston rod.

7. 1n a mail bag handling apparatus, the combination with the car device, of a doubleended station receiver having a catching and delivering device comprising a frame provided at its opposite ends with inclined catcher horns, and a pneumatic cylinder and piston cushion device having impact heads on the piston rod, said heads operating behind said catcher horns.

S. ln a mail bag handling apparatus, the combination with a car device, of a station receiver comprising a frame provided at its opposite extremities with inclined catcher horns having means for supporting the mail bag hangers for delivery purposes, an air cylinder supported by the frame, a double piston rod working through both ends of the cylinder and having a single piston, and sliding impact heads carried upon the frame and connected to opposite ends of the piston rod,

said impact heads having upstanding abutments adapted to be engaged by'a caught mail bag hanger.

9. In a mail bag handling apparatus, the car device, a station receiver comprising a vertically movable frame carrying catching and delivering means7 a vertically arranged supporting stand for said vertically movable frame, a raising and lowering mechanism for f said frame, and a pivotally supported latch carried by the stand independently of said raising and lowering mechanism and arranged to sustain said frame in its elevated position.

10. 'In a mail bag handling apparatus, the

combination with a car device and a station; receiver, both having catching and delivering means, of a mail bag hanger comprising a body having a top supporting ring, pendent hanger arms projecting below the ring, and oppositely extending supplemental hanger bars provided at the lower ends of said hanger arms. Y

11. In a mail bag handling apparatus, the combination of a mail bag hanger comprising an upper supporting ring, hanger arms pendent from said ring, and oppositely extending supplemental hanger bars carried by said hanger arms7 and a car device and station receiver both having catching and delivering means cooperating with the hanger ring.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliX my signature in the presence of two witnesses. VILLIAM H. LUKER. Witnesses:

D. P. WOLHAUPTER, R, C. BRADDOGK. 

